On a particular day in Salt Lake, UT, the temperature was given by $-t^2 +12t+50$ where $t$ is the time in hours past noon. What is the largest $t$ value at which the temperature was exactly 77 degrees?
Explanation: We set the temperature equal to 77 degrees: \begin{align*}
-t^2 +12t+50&=77\\
t^2-12t+27&=0\\
(t-3)(t-9)&=0
\end{align*}We see then that the temperature is 77 degrees exactly twice: at $t=3$ and $t=9$, so our answer is $\boxed{9}$.